Wings of a Warlock
by Rebuilt Emu
Summary: Melin has kept his secrets for six years, but when Morgana attacks he is forced to reveal himself to Arthur and the knights, how will they react. Wing!fic.
1. Chapter 1

Wings of a Warlock

Merlin had always been different. Since birth he has had a destiny that has been written since the dawn of time. He is Emrys, the most powerful magical being that has or will ever live. He does not have magic. He does not practice magic. He is magic. His birth was sensed by the druids and a single druid was sent to bestow a gift upon their infant saviour. A gift that many have dreamt of. A gift like no other. The gift of flight.

It is for this reason that Merlin could be found twenty years later sat in his room wrapping bandages round his torso. Bright sunlight streamed through the small window of the tiny room illuminating its contents and lighting up the bed where the young warlock sat. His fingers skimmed across the soft, glossy feathers of his enormous wings that folded neatly at either side of his spine as he covered them up with the fresh, holding them in place and hiding them from view.

When he had finished he quickly dressed in his usual, brown trousers, blue tunic, battered leather belt, worn, leather boots and his trademark, red neckerchief, and then hurried out of the room. Arthur would not be in a good mood, he was late, again. However he was spared the trouble of seeking the king out when he came bursting through the door of the physicians chambers. "Merlin!" he shouted, then, seeing his incompetent servant standing in the middle of the room, went on to ask "Where have you been? You were supposed to be in my chambers an hour ago!"

"Sorry Sire, I was just finishing an errand for Gaius," Merlin lied easily, reaching for his jacket over the closest bench and slipping it on. "Well hurry up then!" ordered the stressed king, "I've got a council meeting to prepare for and my uncle is nowhere to be found!" Merlin's stomach dropped as he followed Arthur out of the room and up to the royal chambers. This couldn't be good. The traitor, Agravaine, missing. This could not be good.

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	2. Chapter 2

Unfortunately Merlin's fears came into fruition. Sure enough, council meeting came to an abrupt end. They were in the middle of a heated discussion about taxes when the doors burst open to reveal a dishevelled Gwaine "Sire, we're under attack! They're within the city walls!" he shouted so all the arguing lords could hear. Everyone fell silent, all thinking the same thing, how did they get in? Despite the silence, no one could hear Merlin quietly mutter one angry word "Agravaine! "

Arthur stood and the young king began to take charge, "All lords and ladies take refuge in the underground chambers! Gaius threat the injured here!" The room was filled with various 'Yes Sire's as everyone moved to follow their orders, well, except Merlin, who headed straight to Gaius' chambers to carry all the supplies he could carry to help with treating the wounded. After all, he thought to himself, Agravaine was probably all too well informed of today's 'events'. Once he had dropped off the supplies to a frantic looking Gaius, he set off towards the sound of fighting. He had to find Arthur.

As it turned out, Arthur wasn't too hard to find. He was leaning against a wall clutching his side. Merlin ran towards him with a mixture of relief and concern building in his stomach, and helped him in to a more upright position. "Are you alright?" he ask assessing any obvious injuries. "Fine," grunted the king through gritted teeth. Merlin had no time to question this however, because, just then, footsteps sounded from around the corner. Merlin ducked through the nearest doorway, dragging the king with him, climbing the spiral staircase until they were out of site. Merlin tensed his shoulders, pulling in his wings so close to his back it was painful. The two held their breathes as the footsteps thundered past their hiding place. After a minute it became evident that the footsteps were not going to stop anytime soon. They were trapped.

A million escape ideas were whirring around Merlin's head, each less likely than the last. The only plausible answer to their situation he could come up with was revealing his magic, but there had to be another answer, he wasn't ready. Merlin glanced at his king. He had slowly slipped down the wall as his stubbornness gave in to pain. Was Arthur ready? Was _he_ ready? Could he possibly reveal himself to a friend he had been lying to for so long? Could Arthur possibly forgive him? Was there really any other choice? All these questions flew through Merlin's mind in a whirlwind until an answer came to rest firmly in his mind. He sighed, resigned to his fate.

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	3. Chapter 3

Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm and hauled it over his shoulders. Arthur looked at him incredulously "Are you mad? What are you doing?" he exclaimed in a harsh whisper as Merlin started to haul him up the stairs. "I need to be far enough away and have enough space to look at your side," he muttered to his friend "besides I have an idea." Arthur bit back his argument clearly not having any other ideas himself. It was slow progress and they had to keep stopping but they eventually made it to the top. Merlin rested Arthur against the wall. This was really happening, his heart was thundering in his chest. After all this time, he was finally going to reveal his magic.

Arthur stayed sat where he was, leaning against the wall whilst Merlin crouched down to tend his injury. The king was gradually losing his calm mask, it slowly twisting to a look of pain as Merlin gently felt around the large bruise now spreading down the king's side. The warlock was terrified of what he was about to do, but after years of studying under Gaius he had learnt to never let your mind wonder whilst seeing to a patient. This in mind, he kept his eyes fixed on the injury as he examined and felt the damage done. When he had finished he sat back on to his heels and looked his friend in the eye, "You have two broken ribs sire, one of which is getting dangerously close to your lungs." Arthur nodded understanding what that meant.

Merlin bit his lip stealing himself for what he was to say next. He opened his mouth to spill his closest kept secret but, unable to make a sound closed it again. He gulped nervously, opened his mouth and tried again. "Arthur?" the terrified warlock questioned barely above a whisper. The injured king grunted in reply, watching his friend in concern at the tension in his voice. "Arthur?" Merlin asked again, "Please, whatever I do next please don't think any less of me." Arthur looked up at the loyal servant curiously, he had never seen his friend looks desperate. The king shifted and answered, "I'm not afraid of pain, Merlin. Do what you have to do." The young warlock looked upon his king with despair, "That's not what I meant. Just… Just I will always be by your side. I-I would never hurt you." Merlin placed both of his shaking hands over the darkest part of the bruise and poured his magic into his king allowing it to heal the two ribs and rid him of the pain.

Arthur's eyes widened in horror as he watched his manservant's eyes flash molten gold in front of him. No, it can't be. Merlin couldn't be a sorcerer. But he had all the evidence he needed. Merlin had just used magic. But he was healing him. This puzzled Arthur. Why would an evil sorcerer heal him? But then, the words evil and Merlin just didn't fit together. He had come to a conclusion, Merlin wasn't evil. But he had still lied. That hurt even more than the magic itself. They had known each other for six years and become the closest of friends in the process. Yet Merlin didn't trust him with this one secret. Anger and betrayal bubbled up inside him until he was about to explode. But then, before he could do so, he saw the fear in Merlin's eyes. Merlin was afraid of him? The king's mouth went dry. His best and closest friend was afraid of him. There was silence for what felt like days. "How long?" Arthur managed. Merlin's eyes widened with shock. After all this time Arthur was accepting him? His vision was suddenly obscured by a wall of tears. "All my life. I was condemned to the pyre at birth," Merlin whispered to the floor. The king saw his friend's distress and gently nudged him, "Look at me" he said. The servant hesitantly lifted his chin so he could see the king's face. "I'm not going to have you executed, Merlin," Arthur told him firmly, "You are my friend." The dam broke. Tears started to spill down the young warlocks face. Arthur pulled his friend into a tight hug causing Merlin to sob in to his shoulder. Arthur murmured sweet nothings into his servant's ear whilst Merlin muttered his apologies and thanks over and over again into his best friend's shoulder.

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	4. Chapter 4

It took a while for Merlin to finally calm down. "Sorry" he murmured as he awkwardly extracted himself Arthur's arms, wiping his face dry. The king nudged his friend's arm gently before saying, "I swear, Merlin, if I hear the word 'sorry' coming out of your mouth again, you'll be in the stocks for a year." Merlin huffed a laugh feeling a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He took a deep breath and stood, turning to face his friend. It was now or never. "I have a way to get us out of here, to the others," he stated, nervously twisting his fingers in his hands. Arthur looked confused, was he talking about magic? His confusion only grew as his manservant removed his neckerchief, jacket and tunic to reveal pale, white bandages covering his entire torso. "Merlin. What?" Arthur asked worriedly. How badly he must Merlin have been injured to have required so much bandaging? The young warlock glanced up as he began unwrapping the coarse fabric. "It's not for an injury," he muttered softly so Arthur could hear, "It just keeps everything in place." Leaving Arthur more bewildered than before.

Once he was free of the bandaging, Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breathe. Slowly he shrugged his shoulders and unfurled his wings. Arthur's eyes widened in awe as he took in the smooth, black, glossy feathers. As they caught the sunlight, they almost looked blue. The wings were flecked with gold making them almost look like the night sky. The sight was enough to take the king's breath away leaving him speechless. Merlin opened his eyes to see his friend getting to his feet. Arthur's eyes were still wide with wonder and his mouth was ajar. The king realised what he was doing and quickly snapped his mouth shut and tried, unsuccessfully, to not look amazed.

Merlin, suddenly self-conscious, quickly folded his wing and grabbed his tunic off the stone floor. Attempting to hide his embarrassment, he reached into his right boot and pulled out the small dagger that used to belong to his father. Arthur watched warily as his servant unsheathed the blade and used it cut two slits into the back of his tunic. Finally, Arthur managed to unstick his throat and ask, "What are you doing?" a slight look of confusion on his face. Merlin gave his friend a small smile and said quietly, "got to let the wings poke through," before pulling the garment back over his head.

He repeated the process on his jacket and retied his neckerchief round his neck before turning back to Arthur. "So what's this brilliant plan of yours?" asked the king, already having an idea of what it could be and seeing one fatal floor in it. "I can fly, carrying you, over the city walls and get us to the others," Merlin answered. He unfolded his wings once more before shaking them out and then relaxing them, the very tips of his feathers almost touching the floor. "Will you be able to carry me?" Arthur said questioningly, eyeing the warlock's skinny frame warily. Merlin suddenly looked nervous again and his eyes found the floor, "There is a spell…" he trailed off, glancing up anxiously. Arthur took a deep breath and answered calmly "Do what you have to do."

After Merlin explained exactly what spell he was going use and what it would do, the pair walked up to parapets and carefully they both climbed on to the wall. Arthur's heard Merlin mutter something intelligible and then felt himself become weightless. The young warlock then looped his arms under his king's and lifted him of his feet. Arthur's heart was racing. He had just enough time to hear his friend say to him, "Whatever you do don't look down!" before Merlin jumped off the tower, holding the king in his arms.

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	5. Chapter 5

Merlin's heart sang, as he unfurled his wings. The familiar feeling of the joy and freedom of flight washed over him as he beat his wings in long hard strokes, climbing higher and higher over Camelot to the cover of clouds. He relished the refreshing feeling of wind whipping through his hair and feathers. If he couldn't feel the scared king trembling in his arm, he could quite happily forget all his troubles and just let the wind carry him. Arthur's heart was racing, the ground was far beneath him. His legs were dangling helplessly in mid-air, he had never felt so vulnerable. He was clearly not enjoying the sensation of being so high up, above Camelot. Noticing this, he quickly angled his wings towards the darkling woods.

When Merlin caught a glimpse of green through the clouds they were currently soaring over he dropped lower through the cold, wet layer of white. He started to notice he spell was slowly wearing of and was beginning to feel a slight weight in his arms. He had to find a suitable place to land now. When he looked however, he found his sight was obscured by the king, "Arthur" he shouted over the roar of the wind in his ears, "I need you to look for a clearing for me to land." Arthur, who had been resolutely been looking straight forwards yelled back, "Me!? Why do I have to do it?" Merlin laughed after hearing the slight panic in his king's voice, "I promise, I won't drop you, besides I can't you're blocking my view." Merlin couldn't help but feel a slight pang of sympathy for his friend as he felt him take a deep breath and see him drop his head. After a few moments, Arthur shouted "There, at two o-clock." Merlin craned his neck, to see past the king, it didn't take long to locate the clearing Arthur had pointed out, after which he made his way towards it.

It didn't take long for Merlin to make his way to the gap in the trees. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, "Arthur, because I'm carrying you I'm going to use the slower but much smoother method of landing but that means we will tilt to the side a bit, so don't panic because if you do I might drop you," he said this all very quickly, then without waiting for Arthur's reply began making his dissent. Merlin didn't think it was possible to feel Arthur tense anymore, but he was wrong, this added to the gradually building weight made Merlin's arms ache with the effort of keep him aloft. They circled the clearing, gradually getting lower and lower. All the while Arthur was getting heavier, so much so that when they hit the ground Merlin's arm were shaking and was gasping for breath. Despite this he straightened himself, shaking out his wings and began collecting wood for a fire. Meanwhile, Arthur was lieing on the forest floor looking all too happy to be back on solid ground.

By the time Arthur came back to himself, Merlin was sat in front of a pile of wood trying to strike a fire. The king moved to the nearest tree and sat, leaning against it surveying his friend. His wings were spread out curling round him in a relaxed way. He watched his servant, brow furrowed, "Why don't you use magic?" he asked. Merlin's head snapped up, a shocked expression flickering across his face, "You want me to use magic?" he asked looking unsure, eyes wide. Arthur nodded. Merlin's eyes roved over his face, as if to reassure himself that he was being truthful, Which, Arthur thought, he probably was. The young warlock turned his glaze back to the pile of logs. His eyes flashed gold and a flame grew in the wood, he had long since stopped needing incantations for the more menial spells. Then after shuffling uncomfortably, he stood walked over to Arthur and sat leaning against the tree next to his.

They sat in silence until Arthur asked, "So, were you born with the wings as well?" Merlin swallowed and began fidgeting anxiously, staring at his hands, which were now clasped so tightly in his lap they had turned white. "No," he answered softly, "they were bestowed upon me by the druids, two days after my birth." This confused Arthur, druids were secretive people, so why would they come out of hiding for just some random child. "Why?" he asked simply. Merlin hesitated before replying, "They have a prophecy, about the once and future king. He will unite the lands of Albion and bring about a time of peace and prosperity for all, magical or non-magical, but he can't do it alone. He will need help from Emrys, the most powerful magical being to walk the earth, he will act as protector and confident." He paused nervously before continuing, "You, Arthur are the once and future king, and I'm, apparently, Emrys. The druids sensed me, when I was born, and sent someone to give me wings as a gift for something I haven't done yet." Arthur sat stunned. He remembered the speech Merlin gave him about destiny, years ago, when he was standing on the edge of marrying Princess Elena. Only now did he realise that it had come from his own personal experience. He wondered how hard it must have been to face that alone. After a long pause he told Merlin to get some sleep, which, reluctantly, he did, and soon the clearing was filled with the sound Merlin's slow breathing.


	6. Chapter 6

Arthur hardly slept that night. His whole world had been turned upside-down in the space of a few minutes. Merlin was everything he had been taught to hate. Magic was evil but Merlin had had magic ever since he was born, so, by his father's logic, Merlin had been born evil. Arthur knew that to be untrue, no child can be born with evil in their hearts. He couldn't even think of Merlin being evil, because when he did he would see Merlin drinking poison for him or remember him pushing him out of the way of a dagger. He wondered how many times his servant had saved Camelot letting him have all the credit. How stupid had he been? Ever since the clumsy boy had set foot in Camelot they had over-come so many seemingly impossible odds; a griffon, which can only be killed by magic, killed by a non-magical man that refused to take credit, no mortal has ever survived the touch of the dorocha and yet Merlin had still somehow survived and even Morgana's immortal army that that had suddenly and mysteriously been destroyed. Merlin wasn't evil, he was the same self-sacrificing idiot that he'd met all those years ago. He thought of all the times he had told Merlin of the evils of magic and guilt filled him. No wonder he hadn't told him. Why did he stay? Was it just because of the prophecy? Arthur liked to think that they were friends but now he thought back on all the times he had hurt that loyal, self-sacrificing man, unintentional though it may have been, he still couldn't help but wonder why he had stayed. Slowly his fatigue started to catch up with him and his circling thoughts lulled him into a light doze.

There was a rustle though the trees and Arthur woke with a start. He pulled his sword from his scabbard and looked around warily. The seconds stretched into minutes and still nothing happened. Eventually, he lowered his sword, ears still straining to hear the slightest sound. His eyes fell on Merlin who was still asleep, or at least, he thought he was asleep. During the night, it seemed, the younger man had wrapped himself completely in his wings so that all he could see was a large ball of glossy, black feathers, gold flecks glinting in the morning sun. Arthur was beginning to realise exactly why the younger man kept them bound all the time. Unsure of how to wake him, Arthur decided to leave him and set about collecting wood to restart the fire.

When the fire was lit, Arthur looked up as the great mound of feathers shifted, telling him Merlin had begun to stir. Slowly, the wings parted to reveal a rather embarrassed Merlin. Arthur smiled teasingly and couldn't resist saying, "I can see why you kept the wings now. It's like having two comfort blankets strapped to your back. The young warlock went red but his expression, turned to a smirk as he gave one huge beat of his wings causing a great gust of wind to knock the king off his feet from where he was still crouched. "MERLIN!" he yelled. He scrambled to his feet and chased after the laughing servant. Without warning, Merlin kicked off the ground, flapping his wings and hovered just out of reach of the kings reach. "That's cheating!" Arthur called up to his friend, masking his smile. He'd never seen Merlin look so young and carefree. He was happy for his friend.

Eventually, Merlin landed lightly on the ground and began arranging his wings, hiding them beneath his tunic and jacket until the only sign of anything strange were two large slits in the back of his jacket, which you had to squint in order to see. With a flash of his eyes all signs of them being there vanished as a slight breeze shifted the dried leaves to cover them. He quickly looked over to Arthur, a nervous look on his face. The King's face had gone tight but he smiled at the warlock reassuringly and said, "It's just that I need to get used to it." The young warlock smiled back at him but, the king noticed, it didn't look quite as genuine as the one he had worn before.


	7. Chapter 7

Both the king and servant were silent as they walked, neither of them being able to find anything to say. Soon they came across a large camp, Merlin's first thought was druids until the group around the closest fire turned to them and gasped, "Sire!" There were many other exclamations of surprise and delight as more and more people turned to see what the commotion was about. Merlin tensed and drew his wings into his back so tight it hurt. They made their way to the centre of the camp were the knights were. It was then that they heard the cheerful call, "Merlin, Princess! So you finally decided to join us!" Merlin grinned and ran to greet his friend with a hug and Arthur clapped the knight on the back. The young warlock's face turned serious as he made his decision and said determinedly, "Gwaine, could you please gather Gaius, Gwen and Sirs: Leon, Percival and Elian." Arthur looked at Merlin sharply, what was he planning?

It wasn't long before everyone had gathered and Merlin turned to them. As it turned out, Gaius had not made it out of the castle but Merlin had no time to dwell upon that, if he was to help get his guardian out in time. "Is there anywhere more private?" he asked, "I don't want to be over heard." They were led out of the camp and to a fat running stream to cover their voices. Merlin turned to them and took a deep breath, "I have to tell you something." Arthur's eyes widened in realisation, Leon, Elian and Percival looked confused and curious, Gwen looked faintly concerned and Gwaine grinned, slung his arm round the warlock's shoulder and said enthusiastically, "About time mate!" Merlin stared at him wide eyed, "You knew?! You knew and never said something?!" Gwaine shrugged nonchalantly and said dismissively, "I wanted to wait until you were ready." The young warlock shook himself from his shock as Elian piped up, "What are you two talking about?" Merlin took a deep breath and just said it, "I'm a warlock." They all stood, shocked except Gwaine, who stood grinning and Arthur, who was still shocked that his friend was going through with this. "You have magic?" Leon asked, finally breaking the silence. The servant bit his lip looking unsure, "Yes… No… Kind of… It's difficult to explain." The knights, Gwen and even Arthur looked confused now so Merlin elaborated, "I don't really understand it myself, but, from what I've heard from other sorcerers and druids, I am the personified form of magic itself."

"Emrys," murmured Percival. Merlin turned to him in shock at the sound of his druidic name and whispered "How do you know that name?"

"After Cenred destroyed my village, I lived with druids for a while before I met up with Lancelot," answered the gentle giant. Merlin nodded nervously and the knight stepped forward and placed a large comforting hand on his shoulder before continuing, "I have no issue with your magic, from what I heard from the druids, you are the reason Camelot is still standing." Merlin gave a small smile, his confidence growing. Leon stepped forward next, much to the warlock's surprise, "Magic saved my life once, with the Cup of Life," he said and Merlin's heart lifted, it was such a relief to get rid of this weight off his shoulders. It was Gwen that spoke up next, "I know you're not evil, Merlin. It was you that cured my father wasn't it." The servant ducked his head in embarrassment but nodded all the same causing Elian to speak, "Thank you for looking out for my sister, of course I will accept you." Merlin was dizzy with happiness and relief rendering him speechless. They accepted him. They finally knew all his secrets and they accepted him.

Maybe not all of his secrets, he reminded himself. That though was enough to bring him back to earth with a thud. His expression turned nervous again and he said, "There's something else." Gwen stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on his arm, "It's alright," she murmured gently, "it can't be anything bigger than this." Merlin cracked a small smile and said quietly, "I wouldn't be so sure." For once, Arthur silently agreed with him but he stayed quiet, not wanting to but in. The young warlock stepped back from the group, shrugging off Gwen's hand to give himself more space and extended his wings. He knights were speechless as they gazed at the glossy, black feathers with a mixture of shock and awe. "They're beautiful," whispered the future queen softly. Even Arthur didn't know what to say. Then, after several long moments, the silence was broken by Gwaine's delighted laugh, "Well, I don't know about you lot, but I definitely was not expecting that," he turned to the young warlock, "Do you realise how much we could use your new found stills on the princess? You've been holding back on me, my friend." A grin spit Merlin's face and they all laughed until their ribs hurt.


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur awoke the next morning with a start as the shout of his manservant slit the morning silence, "Let's have you lazy daisy!" The king blinked blearily as he forced his mind into wakefulness but jumped to his feet panic stricken as he saw the camp was totally deserted. Merlin rolled his eyes at him, "They're fine, they're all waiting for you," and with that he took hold of his King's arm and began to pull him towards the wood.

They walked in silence until to forest started to become denser and Merlin began to talk, "Do you remember the dark knight?" The question took Arthur by surprise after so much quiet, "Yes," answered slowly, almost hesitantly. The young warlock nodded and continued, "He was a wraith, a dead person that has been risen from the dead to finish their work from when they were alive. This was the wraith of Tristan DuBois, your uncle. When your mother died in child birth he blamed Uther for her death and challenged your father to a duel, a fight to the death that your father won. When you challenged him to a duel, I was up most of the night trying to find a way to kill something that was already dead. I finally found the answer in the library with the help of Geoffrey, a sword forged in a dragon's breath can kill anything, alive or dead. I went straight to Gwen and asked for the best sword she had, which she then gave me. I took it straight down to the cave beneath the dungeons and begged the dragon to burnish it." Arthur started as realisation struck him and he stopped in his tracks, "You know the dragon?" he asked accusingly, "Was it you that you that set him free?" Merlin's gaze fell to the ground and said, "That is a tale for another time. But know this, Arthur. What I did was without choice and each and every life lost in that time hangs heavily on my heart and I will never forgive myself for what I caused."

The sheer, undisguised self-loathing in his manservant's voice shocked Arthur and once again he was hit with the realisation of how much Merlin had been forced to endure alone and unguided for fear of execution. Soon Merlin seemed to shake himself and carry on walking as he continued, "Anyway, a sword forged in a dragon's breath holds a power that we can only _begin_ to dream of and so in the end the dragon _did_ agree burnish it, on the one condition that you and you alone would be the one to use it. However that didn't go exactly as planned." The king snorted in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere as he remembered that particular incident. "Uther had you drugged," Merlin went on, "and, because of my position as a servant, I couldn't stop him from using it. The dragon was furious," he young warlock shuddered as the memory of the dragon's wrath floated across his mind, "He told me to take it to a place far from Camelot, where no mortal could lay hands on it. So I hid it in the depths of The Lake of Avalon." Arthur gave him an exasperated look, "You, just dumped it in some random lake!" Merlin just returned the annoyed look and raise his eyebrow in an uncanny impression of Gaius and retorted, "A random lake that just happens to be the gateway to the land of eternal youth, guarded by the sidhe." The king was forced to concede but, not being one to admit defeat, instead asked, "So is that where we're going then?" Merlin gave a sight smirk in triumph as he answered, "Not quite, the next time the sword was needed was with the immortal army, I retrieved it from the lake and used it to fight my way to the throne room to so I could empty the Cup of Life of the blood it contained and thus destroyed the army of the living dead. After this happened I could tell that you were nearing the time of when you would become worthy of using such a weapon was drawing nearer so I took it deep into the woods and thrust it in to a rock where none could remove it except for the true King of Camelot that, who is not only worthy of the sword but also worthy of his title, The Once and Future King and of the love and devotion that his people show him.

Merlin stopped, so suddenly that it was only the fact that Arthur had been hanging on to every word his manservant had spoken so intensely that he hadn't just carried on walking. He followed his manservant's gaze and he fought hard not to let he jaw drop. In the centre of a large clearing was a sword, gleaming brightly in the light of the sun stuck fast in a large rock of solid stone, but that wasn't the sight that made his stomach drop. Around the outside of the clearing, were his people, knight, guards and peasants mingled together to make a huge crowd and all eyes were on him. He didn't need to glance over his shoulder at Merlin to know what he was meant to do. He strode forwards and grasped its hilt in one hand. For one heart stopping moment the sword didn't budge, but after a moment the blade began to glide smoothly from the stone and he raised it above his head and watched as the runes engraved on the blade caught the sun. The sword was perfect, it looked as it would have done when it was first made and it had perfect balance. He lowered the sword to rest its tip to the ground and soon the loud chanting of, "Long live the King," filled the clearing and the surrounding forest, leaving the King feeling overwhelmed. He glanced at his manservant out of the corner of his eye and saw Merlin's huge grin as he chanted with the rest, with more pride shining through his eyes than any other and Arthur couldn't help but wonder, how was it that the young warlock had managed to keep such faith in him when he had given him so little reason to do so? He has dealt with, and lost so much more than most men would be able to bare and yet, here he was, a good, whole man that still stood and fought for what he believes in. it was then that he made his decision.


	9. Chapter 9

The clamour didn't seem to be coming to an end so Arthur raised his hand and silence soon filled and large clearing as the crowd all stained to hear what their King had to say. "Tomorrow, we go and gain Camelot back from the cruel clutches of Morgana Pendragon and free our home from my sister's oppression and with it we shall bring with us peace and prosperity for all," he paused, "but it has come to my attention, that under my father's and even my own rule, people have been living in fear of unfair persecution." He gave another pause, "I speak of magic," he let that sink in and heard many shocked murmurings from the crowd and Merlin made a small, choking noise and he began to speak once more, "I do not believe that everyone who wields magic is evil for, not only, can it be used for harm, I have seen it heal, protect and perform spectacles of such beauty that you cannot even begin to imagine until you see it. Therefore, I believe that I must declare magic legal."

The effect was instantaneous. Many cheered as a reason for both magical and non-magical people to fear was lifted, some dived into shocked conversations and some just stared, stunned. Though the tumult, Arthur heard a loud sniff from behind him but forced himself not to look round. He raised a hand to silence the crowd and continued, "It is only recently that I have opened my eyes from the help of what some would believe, myself included, an unlikely source. The man has shown himself to be more loyal than any of my knights, wiser than all of my confidants and far braver that any man I know, and yet he has never sought any reward of recognition for his great many deeds to me and Camelot. If he had used any other method he would have been rewarded beyond any of his wildest dreams, though, I doubt he wouldn't have accepted them. So, why is it that the fact that he used magic mean that he would be condemned to an execution? Without him I would still be the arrogant Prince I was years ago and so, it is for this reason that I ask, Merlin, to step forwards."

Murmured conversations started up again and became confused as the servant stumbled forwards, tears streaming down his face. Did the King need Merlin to fetch the sorcerer? All became clear when the servant stood before his King shaking with suppressed emotion. "Kneel," ordered Arthur, giving Merlin a discreet, reassuring smile. The young warlock slowly sunk to his knees eyes turned downwards with a slightly disbelieving expression on his face. "Merlin of Ealdor, will you serve and protect Camelot and her people when she is in her hour of need?" the King asked calmly. "I will," came the shaky reply, only just loud enough for the rest to hear. "Do you solemnly swear to uphold the laws and morals of this kingdom in all to the best of your ability in all of your judgements?" Arthur continued. "I solemnly swear so to do," answered Merlin, his voice growing firmer as he spoke. "Do you swear life and limb to the protection of this kingdom?" Arthur asked, fighting to keep his face stoic. A small smile curved Merlin's lips as he answered, "I, Merlin of Ealdor, son of Balinor and Hunith of Ealdor, last of the dragonlords, master over life and death, the personified form of magic itself, known to the druids in legend as Emrys, protector of the Once and Future King and the vanquisher of the High Priestess of the Old Religion, Nimueh and the sorcerer Cornelius Sigan do swear life, limb and magic to the protection of Camelot, her King and her people." Arthur had to fight to keep his face straight at those words, it seemed his friend had been busy. "Then it is my solemn duty to name you, Merlin of Ealdor," said Arthur gently tapping Excalibur to each of the young warlock's shoulders in turn, "Court Warlock of Camelot and Chief Advisor to the King. Rise."

For a moment, the young King didn't think Merlin would be able to force his shaking legs to take his weight, but, sure enough, the young warlock's stunned, wet face was level with his. The first time since he'd met him, Merlin looked truly lost and Arthur couldn't help himself, he drew the young warlock into a brotherly hug. The act shocked Merlin back to his senses but soon returned the hug. "Thank you," he whispered before they broke apart and turned to the crowd. It was only then that Merlin, noticed, they were clapping, some cheering and he could hear Gwaine whistling from somewhere. Some courtiers stood, spluttering indignantly and a few were eyeing him suspiciously but Merlin had eyes only for his King as realisation finally hit him. He was free. Merlin bit his lip in hesitation as he glanced at the crowd and then back to Arthur and with an approving nod of encouragement from his King he slowly extended his wings to relax them by his sides. A slight breeze flowed through his feathers, the very tips of which brushed the leaves and twigs of the forest floor and the gold flecks reflected the early morning sun to give an overall, stunning effect. There were gasps of awe and surprise and some of disgust but Merlin didn't care, he was free. The Golden Age of Albion had finally began to bloom.


	10. Chapter 10

The camp was alive the people of Camelot sharpening weapons whilst those knights and guards that had escaped prepared for battle. The plan was in place and night was falling. It was almost time. Once they had the darkness as cover Arthur led his knights to the outskirts of the city, Merlin following, ever loyally at his side. "You're sure about this?" asked Arthur. The young warlock paused as he extended his wings in preparation to leave, "I'll be fine, Arthur," he replied before his eyes turned teasing, "I'll go defeat Morgana, you can go play soldiers then I'll come and save your royal backside like I normally do." The King huffed a laugh before he his face turned serious, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Seriously, though, be careful." Merlin smiled and nodded, "You too," he said. Arthur watched the servant turned Court Warlock suddenly remembering a conversation from years ago, "Nervous?" asked he asked. Merlin mouth twitched in reminiscence, "Throats dry."

"Me too," said the King replied, finally removing his hand and Merlin kicked off from the ground, hard and headed for the cover of the night sky, feeling the King's eye's following him as he went.

It didn't take long for him to reach the battlements. He landed softly behind Morgana's guards and quickly and silently made his way to the doorway of the tower leaving two rather confused guards behind him. He stuck to the shadows as he made his way through to the throne room, despite the darkness, he doubted the High Priestess would have retired just yet, not with Arthur nowhere to be found. Sure enough, the Mercenaries where much more concentrated the closer. He was a shadow on the wall moving through the castle's passageways with practised ease. When he finally reached the throne room Merlin muttered the spell to age himself and placed a glamour on his clothes to appear as robes before knocking out the lookouts and storming into the throne room.

The sound of swords being drawn was the first thing he heard as he entered. He rolled his eyes and waved a hand, watching as they all fell to the ground leaving Morgana, Helios and Agravane staring at him in shock at the other end of the room. Morgana's face quickly morphed into a look of pure venom as she slowly rose from her throne, "Emrys," she hissed like an angry snake, lifting an arm towards him. The stone flooring cracked as vines quickly grew towards him before suddenly stopping as they reached him. He smirked at her, "you'll have to do better than that, Morgana," and he fled, running straight back to the battlements, leaving an obvious trail of unconscious Mercenaries behind him as he went. He quickly downed the potion to remove the ageing spell as he ran, thanking the Goddess that he had thought to carry a vial around with him since the fomorroh and removing the glamour as he ran up the steps, two at a time turning around only just in time to see Morgana step out on to the battlements looking murderous.

She stalked towards him sword raised, "Where's Emrys? Tell me!" she shrieked, looking around wildly. "Oh, Morgana," he said causing her to whirl back to him, "I thought you of all people would have noticed a simple ageing spell when you saw one." The High Priestess' eyes widen in shock before quickly turning in rage, "You," she spat. Then her face twisted into a smirk, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing you Emrys." and shooting a spell at him. Merlin grinned as the spell sailed by right beneath him as he kicked off the ground and into the air. She stared at him in complete and utter astonishment. She quickly regained her composure and began shooting spell after spell up at him, clearly not at full power, but powerful all the same. Meanwhile, Merlin swooped and soared around her dodging them effortlessly, occasionally adding a little twirl in the air of a loop-the-loop, goading her. "FIGHT BACK YOU COWARD!" she shrieked when her anger finally got the better of her. Merlin laughed as he swooped past her after smoothly diving out of the way of yet another fire ball, "But I don't need to, you're not much of a threat to me down there!" he called to her provokingly. He'd done it.

Morgana crouched, hands placed to the ground as she began to mutter a spell. Suddenly, two black shapes burst through from her back, cutting through the fabric of her dress as easily as a seamstress' scissors. Merlin watched her from a far shocked that it had not taken longer to provoke her. He knew how dangerous it was to manipulate the human body after it had developed into an adult, from books he'd read. Slowly she stood a mad gleam in her eye as she stared up at his. She turned abruptly and sprinted off the battlement spreading her black bat like wings to catch the air beneath her. The fight had begun.


	11. Chapter 11

Merlin flitted around the Morgana as they fought, taking advantage of her clumsy flight, using his speed and agility to out manoeuvre her. They weren't yet far away enough to ensure an innocent wouldn't get hit by a stray curse so he kept his spells small and precise barraging her from all sides making sure to use the extra space of above and below. Merlin only gave her time to deftly block his attacks, occasionally getting in a hit making her wince as she concentrated on the need to flap her wings, all the time he was wearing her down and pushing their fight towards the woods. He bit his lip as they reach the out skirts of the city, it was risky to keep pushing her, if he could see her tiring, the High Priestess defiantly could feel it and her face was the picture of undiluted rage there was a chance that she would just stop caring for her own well-being focusing only on her intent to kill.

Merlin wasn't quite as far as he would have liked when Morgana finally lost her patience and screamed in frustration, sending out a wave of magic that thankfully missed him as she dropped a few feet in the air as she forgot to flap. The High Priestess hissed angrily as she flapped her wings rising up to meet him. They stared at each other, both daring the other to make the first move. Morgana snapped first, sending a much larger fire ball at him. Merlin didn't bother to dodge this time, instead, he caught it with his magic twisting and enlarging into a fiery dragon that flew directly at her, too large to dodge. Not that she didn't try, she threw up a hasty shield whilst flapping frantically upward to evade it. Merlin heard her agonised scream as the dragon made contact with her leg making him wince as he felt the ghost of pain from his chest. Just as the smoke cleared, five forks of lightning streaked their way towards him like snakes. He deflected them with a shield before whipping up a strong wind around her, buffeting her left and right as she fought to stay in the air. Finally, Merlin let up, he couldn't finish this once and for all if he just knocked her out of the sky. He then raised his palm to the sky causing rain to pour from the heavens, hoping to further hinder her. Before he had the chance to return his gaze to her there was a sharp pain in his abdomen and he let out a yell of pain. He looked down to see a particularly sharp broken branch protruding from his stomach. He didn't have time to dwell on the matter as more came flying at him shakily he raised a hand and the branched splintered and flung themselves back towards Morgana. The High Priestess blocked them. Meanwhile, Merlin ripped out the branch from his body to prevent its weight from causing more damage and wrapped an arm tightly around it in an effort to prevent blood loss. He bit down on his lip to prevent a pained cry from escaping his lips.

Morgana laughed madly at the sight of her enemy's weakness all reason gone from her face. Merlin watched blurrily as blood loss began to cloud his vision. But nothing could make him mistake the mass of dark magic all converging together in the air in front of him. A rush of adrenaline sharpened his vision and now he could see clearly, the black orb slowly growing in the palm of her hand. She had totally lost it, not only did that amount of black magic have the power to kill to both of them but also turn Camelot into the next Perilous Lands. He surged forward wrapping a golden tendril of his own magic around her binding her in the air, holding her close enough that he just had enough room to flap his wings and hold both of them aloft. He muttered the spell under his breath and a shield in the form of a sphere around them both. He took one last look at the feral eyes of the once kind and compassionate ward of the King, now the insane High Priestess and closed his eye hoping against hope that his shield would absorb most of the damage instead of him.

There might have been a bang or there might not have. He might have screamed but Merlin couldn't remember. The only things he could remember were pain and black. Now, he was floating, no, not floating. He could feel air rushing past his hair and feathers. He was falling. There was pain, pain everywhere. He wanted it to stop. As if the gods had heard his wish a wave of darkness swept over him and then… nothing.


End file.
